The Duke Girl
by stormy.grace
Summary: What happens when a girl from Bo and Luke's racing days shows up in Hazzard with a child she claims is Bo's.
1. Chapter 1

Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane did not want to be the one to tell Boss this particular piece of news, but as the Sheriff of Hazzard County, and Boss' brother-in-law, he felt it was his sworn duty to warn him. So he took a deep breath and knocked on the door of Boss' Boar's Nest office, poking his head in. "Yoo-hoo. Boss? Can I come in?"

Boss Hogg sat in his barber's chair with his eyes closed as a pretty young lady massaged his shoulders. He opened one eye and looked at his bumbling partner. "You're already halfway in, Rosco."

Rosco giggled and stepped into the room. "Boss, I got some news to tell you. Yer not gonna like it though."

"Then don't tell me." Boss said simply, but he wanted to know. When Rosco started to leave he struggled to get his bulk out of the chair, waving his arms and legs. "Get back here and tell me!"

Rosco turned back and stood with his hat in his hands, nervously turning it. "I just came back from the Duke farm."

"You mean _my_ farm." Boss corrected. "Did you serve Jesse with the papers?"

"Well, I tried to, but something happened."

"You can go now, honey. Thanks you very much." Boss said to the pretty little redhead who scurried out the back door. "Rosco, don't tell me you let those Duke boys shuck and jive you again."

Rosco shook his head. "No. They didn't even try to run this time. But I think you need to go out there and see for yourself."

"See what for myself, Rosco?" Boss demanded. He was growing impatient. He wanted that farm and the Dukes hadn't been able to make their mortgage payment. That meant he could foreclose on the farm and finally be rid of those pesky Dukes!

"Bo Duke's daughter."

"Bo Duke's what?"

"Daughter." Rosco repeated. "Apparently Bo Duke met some girl up in New York when him and Luke were racin', and she never told him she was pregnant. She showed up yesterday and just left this cute little girl with the Dukes."

Boss looked like he was about to pass out. "Bo Duke has a daughter! Do you know what this means Rosco?"

"I sure do, Boss. It means Bo's a daddy." Rosco said with his goofy little _ki-ki-ki_. "And she sure is a pretty little thing. Cute as a button."

"Rosco! I don't care how _cute_ she is." Boss said. "She's a Duke! Another Duke!"

"Another Duke." Rosco repeated, realizing the meaning of the words. "Another Duke. But she can't cause too much trouble, Boss. She's only two."

"But she won't be two forever, Rosco." Boss pointed out. "And she's gonna grow up and be just like her daddy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note – This chapter is a flashback to introduce the mother. Also, since I wasn't born until 1990 I'm not really an expert on 80s fashion so I hope I described her outfit okay.**

"Excuse me, Miss."

Daisy had seen the car pull into the parking lot as she had been taking the trash out. She hadn't recognized it, but they got out-of-towners all the time so she didn't pay much attention to it. Whoever was inside was probably just passing through Hazzard, but apparently they needed directions. She turned with a smile to help the woman that didn't sound like she was from around here and was surprised at what she saw.

The woman was dressed in a pair of tight jeans tucked into a pair of black boots, a black belt, and a white blouse tucked into her jeans. She was tall and fair skinned with thick black hair and a pair of sunglasses shading her eyes and a large pair of gold earrings. She was beautiful and Daisy couldn't help but wonder where she was from.

"Can I help you, sugar?" Daisy asked as she walked over to the woman.

The woman smiled. "I hope so. Can you tell me where I can find the Duke farm?"

Daisy's level of curiosity rose as she smiled. "I sure can! I'm Daisy Duke."

"Oh!" the woman said. "You must be Bo and Luke's cousin! I'm Shannon O'Malley."

Daisy shook Shannon's hand. "You're the photographer that was following the circuit for that article!"

"Yes." Shannon confirmed. "I got to know your cousins pretty well. I'm looking for Bo actually."

Bo hadn't said much about her, but Luke had informed Jesse and Daisy that she and Bo had been dating until the boys came back home. For a long time after the came home Bo had seemed a little sad and Daisy had suspected that it had something to do with Shannon O'Malley.

"You just missed him." Daisy said. "I'll be off work in a little while, if you wanna hang around and follow me back."

Shannon gestured to her car. "I would, but I have my little girl with me. I don't think a bar is the best place for a two year old."

"Probably not." Daisy said with a laugh and gave Shannon directions out to the farm.

It wasn't until she was back inside serving Boss Hogg's watered down beer that the pieces fell into place and she realized why Shannon was here. It wasn't a simple social visit. Daisy almost dropped a tray in a customer's lap when she realized that Shannon's little girl was Bo's too. She told Boss that she had to leave early and drove back to the farm as fast as she could, letting the boys know over the CB that they needed to get back too.


	3. Chapter 3

Bo and Luke had both been surprised when Daisy had explained to them that Shannon O'Malley was in town looking for Bo. They had been equally surprised when she had added the fact that Shannon had a child with her. Daisy didn't say that she thought the child was Bo's, but both boys came to the same conclusion.

"Uncle Jesse's gonna kill me, Luke." Bo said.

Luke glanced out the rear window and saw Rosco was still behind them. "We'll worry about that later, Bo. First we gotta shake ole' Rosco. Step on it!"

Bo did as he was told and they managed to loose Rosco when he got stuck in a tree trying to jump a ravine. They stopped to make sure he was okay and then took off for the farm.

Daisy's jeep and an unfamiliar car they assumed was Shannon's were parked outside along with the truck.

"I don't know if I wanna go in there, Luke." Bo said, looking slightly sick.

"Come on, Bo." Luke replied, trying to sound as if he wasn't just as freaked out as his younger cousin. "You're a grown man. Besides, we don't know that it is your kid. Let's just go in there and see what Shannon wants."

Bo decided that he couldn't hide in the General forever and followed Luke into the house, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Hi Bo." Shannon said, standing as they stepped into the kitchen. "Luke."

"Hey Shannon." Bo said awkwardly as he looked around the room.

Jesse sat at the table and there was no sign of Daisy or any child. Bo could hear Daisy's voice in the living room and felt a lump form in his throat when he heard a reply from a second voice. A voice that belonged to a little girl.

"Luke," Jesse said, pushing himself out of his chair. "Why don't we give Bo and Miss O'Malley some privacy?"

Luke nodded and followed Jesse into the next room. Bo stepped out onto the porch with Shannon. Neither of them said anything for a long moment.

"That your daughter I heard in there?" he finally asked.

She nodded. "Yes. She's two."

"Is uh…is she…"

"Yours?" she finished for him.

"Yeah."

Shannon nodded. "Yes. She is."

Bo had been fairly certain that she was so Shannon's answer didn't surprise him. What did surprise him was his own reaction. "Dang it, Shannon! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know when you left, Bo!" she cried.

"Well why didn't you tell me when you did know?" he demanded.

Shannon was almost at eye level with him in her high heeled boots and her brown eyes easily met his blue ones. "What would you have done if I had, Bo? Marry me?"

"Well…yeah." He said. "I'd have offered anyway."

"That's why I didn't tell you." She said. "I wasn't ready to get married."

"You could've said no." he argued. "But either way, you should've told me. Don't I have the right to know that I have a kid?"

"I'm telling you now. Is that not good enough for you?"

"No! I've missed two years of her life!"

Shannon was slightly surprised at the emotion she saw on his face. He was truly upset at having missed two years of his daughter's life. "I'm sorry, Bo. I just didn't know how to tell you."

"Why are you telling me now?" he asked.

"I realize this sounds selfish, but I got a job and I can't take her with me." Shannon explained. "I don't have anyone to leave her with."

"What about your mother?"

"Mother died a few months ago." Shannon said.

He knew that her father had been killed in a house fire when she was a teenager and she had been an only child. Her mother was the only family she had left. They had been extremely close and Bo knew that she must be hurting bad. "I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"She had a heart attack." Shannon explained.

Diana Fairchild O'Malley had been forty-two years old when Shannon had been born, and she had never been a completely healthy woman after. A heart attack at sixty-nine hadn't surprised Shannon. What had surprised her was the realization that her mother was gone. Tears filled her eyes as she thought about it now and she couldn't hold them back this time.

It broke Bo's heart to see her cry and he pulled her close and held her until she calmed down.

Shannon smiled at him as she wiped her face. "So, can she stay here?"

"Of course she can." He assured her. "Family's always welcome here. But it might help to know a few things about her before you go."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know…her name?"

Shannon laughed as she realized she hadn't told him anything other than the fact that he had a daughter and she was two. "Elizabeth Pearl. I call her Lacey."

"Lacey." He repeated, smiling. "Can I meet her?"

"That's a silly question." Shannon said, laughing again. "What are you going to do? Hide in the barn until I come back?"

Bo laughed at his own question and held the door open for her so they could go in and he could meet his daughter for the first time.


End file.
